California, 22 other states take Trump to court over climate change rules

[WASHINGTON] A group of 23 states on Friday sued to block the Trump administration from undoing California's authority to set strict car pollution rules, one of the biggest US battles over climate change.

On the day that young people around the world staged protests demanding action on climate, the lawsuit in US District Court in Washington was the first round in a legal battle that many expect will outlast Trump's presidency.

"Mr President, we'll see you in court," California Attorney-General Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

The legal fight pits a state that has become the US environmental champion against a President who wants to boost the economy by cutting regulation, a debate that already is playing out ahead of the presidential election next year.

"Trump's latest move is bad for our air. Bad for our health. Bad for our economy," said California governor Gavin Newsom.

California's vehicle emissions rules, more stringent than the Trump EPA's rules, are followed by a dozen other states that account for more than 40 per cent of US vehicle sales.

Mr Trump has said looser tailpipe emissions rules would make vehicles cheaper. Environmentalists argue Mr Trump's rules will hasten climate change, and that emissions rules improve fuel economy, lowering consumer costs.

The states, led by California and joined by the District of Columbia, Los Angeles and New York City, sued the US Transportation Department in US District Court seeking a court order blocking the federal move.

The states suing include New York, Michigan, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Washington State and Massachusetts.

The US Transportation Department declined to comment. It said on Thursday in its determination that federal law preempts state and local regulation of vehicle fuel economy, including California's greenhouse gas vehicle emissions rules that are followed by about a dozen other states.

The legal challenge does not address a parallel decision by the US Environmental Protection Agency to revoke a 2013 waiver California received under the Clean Air Act to set emissions standards. That does not take effect until late November.

The Trump administration is seeking to reverse decades of precedent that has allowed California a national role in deciding what Americans drive as it regulated vehicle emissions.

Mr Becerra said the Transportation Department's determination was unlawful, and that the administration misread federal law and ignored the intent of Congress.

"The administration insists on attacking the authority of California and other states to tackle air pollution and protect public health," Mr Becerra said.

The Trump administration has been waging a multi-pronged battle to counter the state's efforts to fight climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses from vehicles.

In August, the Justice Department launched an antitrust probe of Ford Motor, Volkswagen, BMW and Honda Motor that struck a voluntary agreement with California to vehicle reduce emissions.

The Obama-era rules called for a fleetwide fuel efficiency average of 46.7 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025, with average annual increases of about 5 per cent, compared with 37 mpg by 2026 under the Trump administration's preferred option to freeze requirements.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Thursday the administration will finalise revisions in the coming weeks. "No state has the authority to opt out of the nation's rules and no state has the right to impose its policies on everybody else in our whole country," she said.

REUTERS